Reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—the benchmark singles chart in the United States—is a considerably rare achievement. Several dancehall infused songs have climbed to the top from Drake, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, but the only Jamaican dancehall artists who have reached that summit are Sean Paul, Shaggy and Ini Kamoze, with British born Jamaican RikRok and Barbados’ Rayvon going along for the ride on the No. 1 hits.
These No. 1 hits are ranked by WMV, not simply by whether they topped the chart, but by how long they actually remained at No. 1.
At the top is Sean Paul’s collaboration with Beyoncé, “Baby Boy,” which ruled the Hot 100 for nine weeks. Sia and Sean Paul’s “Cheap Thrills” follows with four weeks at No. 1, although it holds another distinction: at 52 weeks, it spent longer on the Hot 100 overall than any other song on this list.
Using weeks at No. 1 as the primary ranking and total weeks on the Hot 100 as the tiebreaker, here are Jamaican dancehall’s longest-reigning No. 1 hits.
1. “Baby Boy” — Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul
9 weeks at No. 1 | 29 weeks on the Hot 100
No Jamaican dancehall artist on this list has enjoyed a longer continuous stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 than Sean Paul did with Beyoncé’s “Baby Boy.”
Released during Sean Paul’s spectacular international breakthrough, “Baby Boy” reached No. 1 in October 2003 and remained there for nine weeks. Its total Hot 100 run lasted 29 weeks.
That makes it the clear champion when the records are measured by their time at No. 1 rather than simply total weeks on the chart.
The collaboration also arrived at precisely the right moment. Beyoncé was establishing herself as a solo superstar following Destiny’s Child, while Sean Paul was becoming perhaps the most visible dancehall artist in the world.
Rather than removing Sean Paul’s Jamaican identity to make the record more commercially accessible, “Baby Boy” made his dancehall delivery an essential part of its sound. The result was not merely a dancehall-influenced American hit. One of Jamaica’s leading deejays was sharing the biggest song in America for more than two months.
Even more remarkably, “Baby Boy” followed Sean Paul’s own “Get Busy,” which had reached No. 1 earlier that same year.
2. “Cheap Thrills” — Sia featuring Sean Paul
4 weeks at No. 1 | 52 weeks on the Hot 100
If “Baby Boy” holds the crown for the longest reign at No. 1, “Cheap Thrills” wins another important category.
The Sia hit featuring Sean Paul spent four weeks at No. 1 but an extraordinary 52 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 overall.
That gives “Cheap Thrills” the longest total chart run of any song in this ranking.
Its success is even more impressive considering when it happened. By 2016, more than a decade had passed since Sean Paul’s early-2000s American breakthrough. Pop trends had changed dramatically, yet his unmistakable Jamaican delivery once again became part of America’s biggest song.
“Cheap Thrills” therefore represented something more than another hit. It demonstrated Sean Paul’s extraordinary longevity.
The song gave him his fourth Hot 100 No. 1, following “Get Busy,” “Baby Boy” and “Temperature,” and its full-year chart run dwarfs the overall longevity of the other Jamaican dancehall No. 1s here.
So there are effectively two champions in this ranking: “Baby Boy” for the longest stay at No. 1 and “Cheap Thrills” for the longest total stay on the Hot 100.
3. “Get Busy” — Sean Paul
3 weeks at No. 1 | 32 weeks on the Hot 100
Unlike “Baby Boy” and “Cheap Thrills,” where Sean Paul was part of a collaboration led by a major international pop star, “Get Busy” was Sean Paul’s own record.
And that makes its achievement particularly significant.
The Dutty Rock smash spent three weeks at No. 1 and 32 weeks on the Hot 100 overall.
Built on producer Steven “Lenky” Marsden’s now-famous Diwali riddim, “Get Busy” brought the mechanics and energy of Jamaican dancehall directly into American mainstream pop.
It was not simply a pop song borrowing vaguely Caribbean sounds. It was a Jamaican dancehall artist riding a Jamaican riddim—and doing so all the way to No. 1 in the United States.
“Get Busy” became Sean Paul’s first Hot 100 chart-topper and helped make 2003 one of the defining years for dancehall’s crossover into the American mainstream.
With 32 total weeks on the chart, it also remains the longest-charting No. 1 on this list on which a Jamaican dancehall artist is the sole lead performer.
4. “Here Comes the Hotstepper” — Ini Kamoze
2 weeks at No. 1 | 30 weeks on the Hot 100
Nearly a decade before Sean Paul became an American chart powerhouse, Ini Kamoze took Jamaican music to the top with “Here Comes the Hotstepper.”
The 1994 crossover hit spent two weeks at No. 1 and 30 weeks on the Hot 100 overall.
“Here Comes the Hotstepper” arrived at a fascinating point in Jamaican music’s relationship with American hip-hop. Produced by Salaam Remi, the Sony Records release blended reggae and dancehall sensibilities with hip-hop and funk elements, giving it enormous crossover appeal without erasing Kamoze’s Jamaican character.
Its enduring “murderer” refrain became one of the most instantly recognizable Jamaican vocal hooks to penetrate American popular culture during the 1990s.
5. “It Wasn’t Me” — Shaggy featuring RikRok
2 weeks at No. 1 | 25 weeks on the Hot 100
Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” is one of those records whose cultural life became much larger than its original chart run.
Featuring fellow Jamaican vocalist RikRok, the song spent two weeks at No. 1 and 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
That puts it behind “Here Comes the Hotstepper” in this ranking only because Ini Kamoze’s record had the longer overall chart run—30 weeks compared with 25.
For Shaggy, however, “It Wasn’t Me” marked a major breakthrough in the United States.
Its conversational storytelling, instantly memorable chorus and Shaggy’s distinctive deejay delivery helped transform the record into an international phenomenon.
More importantly, its success wasn’t followed by a long wait for another American No. 1.
Shaggy was about to do it again.
6. “Temperature” — Sean Paul
1 week at No. 1 | 31 weeks on the Hot 100
By the time “Temperature” reached No. 1 in 2006, Sean Paul no longer needed to prove that dancehall could produce a major American crossover hit.
He had already done it repeatedly.
Still, “Temperature” provided further evidence that his success was not confined to the extraordinary Dutty Rock era.
The song spent one week at No. 1 and an impressive 31 weeks on the Hot 100 overall.
That means “Temperature” actually remained on the chart longer than several songs that enjoyed longer stays at No. 1. It spent more total weeks on the Hot 100 than “Here Comes the Hotstepper,” “Baby Boy,” “Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me.”
But because this ranking prioritizes weeks at the summit, its one-week No. 1 reign places it sixth.
7. “Angel” — Shaggy featuring Rayvon
1 week at No. 1 | 28 weeks on the Hot 100
Shaggy completes the ranking with “Angel,” featuring Jamaican singer Rayvon.
The song spent one week at No. 1 and 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Shaggy his second American chart-topper following “It Wasn’t Me.”
“Angel” and “It Wasn’t Me” together made the Hot Shot era one of the most successful American crossover periods ever achieved by a Jamaican recording artist.
Jamaican Dancehall Artists With the Longest-Running No. 1 Hits on the Billboard Hot 100
- “Baby Boy” — Sean Paul with Beyoncé — 9 weeks at No. 1 — 29 weeks on Hot 100
- “Cheap Thrills” — Sean Paul with Sia — 4 weeks at No. 1 — 52 weeks
- “Get Busy” — Sean Paul — 3 weeks at No. 1 — 32 weeks
- “Here Comes the Hotstepper” — Ini Kamoze — 2 weeks at No. 1 — 30 weeks
- “It Wasn’t Me” — Shaggy feat. RikRok — 2 weeks at No. 1 — 25 weeks
- “Temperature” — Sean Paul — 1 week at No. 1 — 31 weeks
- “Angel” — Shaggy feat. Rayvon — 1 week at No. 1 — 28 weeks
